# Incident 20260909013199I: Piper PA-32RT-300, Tiffin, OH, September 9, 2026 - Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 9, 2026, 09:30 local time - Place: Tiffin, OH - Airport: Seneca County - Damage: Minor damage - Phase of flight: Landing: Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 41.0941° N, 83.2125° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SENECA COUNTY (16G), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.0941&lon=-83.2125&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2217E, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2217E) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-32RT-300 (registry code 7103215, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32rt-300) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540 series (registry code 41530, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-32RT-300 - Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-540 SER - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot - Pilot flight hours: 5,500 total - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260909013199I ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. THE PILOT IN COMMAND (PIC) OF THE AIRCRAFT AND MAINTENANCE SERVICE MANAGER DEPARTED RUNWAY 24 ON A ROUTINE RETURN TO SERVICE FLIGHT AFTER COMPLETION OF AN ANNUAL INSPECTION. PRIOR TO DEPARTURE THEY CONFIRMED ALL DOCUMENTATION WAS SATISFACTORY, BRIEFED WITH THE MECHANICS, AND PERFORMED A DETAILED PRE-FLIGHT. AFTER ROTATION THE PILOT CLIMBED TO 5,500 FEET MSL TO PERFORM THE NECESSARY AIR WORK. MAINTENANCE SERVICE MANAGER HAD THE CHECKLIST AND CONFIRMING NUMBERS, TEMPS, ETC. DURING THE FLIGHT. UPON REACHING ALTITUDE THE PILOT SLOWED TO CONFIRM THE GEAR HORN WAS OPERATING CORRECTLY, AND THE AUTO GEAR DEPLOY WAS OPERATING. DURING THIS INSPECTION THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO RECEIVE (2) GREEN LANDING GEAR LIGHTS (BOTH THE MAINS) AND UNABLE TO GET THE NOSE TO DROP. AT THIS POINT THEY ASSUMED THE NOSE GEAR DOWN SPRING NEEDED ADJUSTMENT, AND THEY WOULD HAVE THIS LOOKED AT ONCE ON THE GROUND. THE PILOT PERFORMED AN EMERGENCY GEAR EXTEND WITH THE SAME RESULTS. AGAIN (2) GREEN, THE MAINS AND NO NOSE LIGHT. THE ASSUMPTION HAD NOT CHANGED, AND THEY BELIEVE THIS TO BE THE GEAR SPRING AND ADJUSTMENT NEEDED TO BE MADE. THE PILOT CONTINUED THE TEST FLIGHT WITH NO ISSUES AND ENTERED THE DOWNWIND LEG FOR LANDING. WHEN SELECTING GEAR DOWN THERE WERE (2) GREEN MAIN LANDING GEAR LIGHTS AND NO NOSE LIGHT. THEY COULD HEAR THE HYDRAULIC PUMP CONTINUING TO RUN AND NEVER RECEIVED THE GREEN NOSE GEAR LIGHT, AND THE GEAR UNSAFE LIGHT NEVER WENT OUT. IN FEAR OF DAMAGING THE PUMP, THE PILOT SELECTED GEAR UP AND GAINED A SAFE ALTITUDE TO SEE IF THE PILOT COULD YAW, SHAKE, RATTLE, ETC. TO GET THE NOSE TO DROP WHICH DID NOT WORK. THE PILOT RADIOED THE OFFICE THROUGH THE UNICOM FREQUENCY (123.00) AND COMMUNICATED WITH THE GROUND CREW TO CONFIRM WHETHER THEY DID OR DID NOT SEE A NOSE GEAR WHEN PERFORMING A LOW PASS. THEY INFORMED THE PILOT THAT THE GEAR WAS SAGGING AND NOT EXTENDED. THE PILOT CIRCLED AND ATTEMPTED TO BOUNCE THE AIRCRAFT ON THE RUNWAY USING THE MAINS TO SEE IF THE PILOT COULD KNOCK THE NOSE GEAR FREE. THIS DID NOT WORK, AND THE PILOT RADIOED FOR EMERGENCY PERSONNEL TO BE CALLED AND STAND BY. THE PILOT CIRCLED THE FIELD AND WAITED FOR THE OKAY FROM THE CREW ON THE GROUND. AT APPROXIMATELY 9:20 A.M. LOCAL THE PILOT LANDED WITH GEAR DOWN SELECTED (2) GREEN , BOTH THE MAINS AND NO GREEN NOSE LIGHT. PRIOR TO TOUCH DOWN, THE ENGINE WAS SHUT DOWN WITH MIXTURE CUT OFF, AND THE FUEL SELECTOR WAS MOVED TO THE OFF POSITION. THE PILOT HELD THE NOSE UP AS LONG AS POSSIBLE UNTIL THE AIRCRAFT FELL JUST SHY OF THE TAXIWAY TURN OFF ON RUNWAY 24. EXITED THE AIRCRAFT UNHARMED WITH MINOR DAMAGE TO THE AIRFRAME AND SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.